grief-stricken
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does grief-stricken mean? Grief-stricken means overwhelmed or strongly affected by grief—mental or emotional suffering or distress caused by loss or regret.It’s especially used to describe a person who is feeling intense sorrow and loss from the death of a loved one.The word stricken is the past participle of the verb strike, but it can also be used as an adjective meaning the same thing as afflicted.The word grief can also be used in the context of other situations involving loss, such as a divorce or the loss of a job, but grief-stricken is usually only used to describe those who are feeling grief due to a death. In other words, those who are grief-stricken are usually those who are grieving or mourning.Example: She was absolutely grief-stricken after the loss of her mother.
Etymology
Origin of grief-stricken
First recorded in 1900–05
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A grief-stricken community in northern Canada will mourn with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday, who is headed to the remote town of Tumbler Ridge to honor victims of a mass shooting.
From Barron's
As the sun set in the grief-stricken Canadian town of Tumbler Ridge on Wednesday, hundreds gathered in a main square, lighting candles for victims of one of the country's worst-ever mass shootings.
From Barron's
“Our family is completely grief-stricken and shocked over her loss. We’re going to have a very, very difficult time living without her,” said her brother, Tom Marantos.
From Los Angeles Times
We’ll see visions of a medium, hear fragmented remembrances and explore a trail while discovering a tale that feels like an intimate glimpse into a grief-stricken past.
From Los Angeles Times
Still, when their husbands die, ostensibly in a plane crash, Bea and Twila are grief-stricken — they have lost not only their husbands but their careers as foreign service wives.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
